Collapsible chicken-coop.



Y Patented Sept. 26, i899.

1 .f-"mnLTon CULLAPSIBLE CHICKEN COUP.

[Applicnion Med Dec. 20, l898.|

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No. 633,929. Patented Sept. 26, |899.

l v1.1.. wALTuu. CULLAPSIBLEGHICKEN COOP.

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tain new and useful Improvements in Collap- Unirse Srnrrsf .Param Orne-e.

WILLIAM L. VVALTON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO `WILLIAM I-I.

OBRIEN, ADAM e.v 'roRRANon PLAGE.

AND CHARLESVW. VALTON, OF SAME @wreef-Ej LGHIGKEN-CQOP- SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters' Petn-t No. 633,929, dated september 2e, ieee.

Application filed December 20, y1898'. Serial'No. 699,850. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t Amayconcern:

Beit known thatLWILLIAM LWALTQN, a citizen of the'United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missori, have invented cersible Chicken-Cooper', of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying draw# ings, forming a part hereof.

Myinvention has relation in chicken-coops; and it consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forthin the specification and pointed ont in the claim. 1 'f In the drawings., Figure lv is a top plan Aof the coop, but with the top cover removed. Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line-3 3 of Fig.' l after the end walls, however, have been folded down. Fig. i is a Vsection on the same line after, however, both the end walls and side walls have been folded down against the bot-v tom, the .planeof section just skipping the edge of the side wall thus folded, and thus leaving the edge in elevation. This view also shows by dotted lines the position the removable cover occupies in the packing of the folded coops during shipment. Fig. 5 is a top plan of the coop with the cover in place, and

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 5 of only the upper portion of the coop. Y

The object of my invention is` to construct a folding or knoclrdown chicken-coop whereby the same can be folded or knocked down to a compact form when not in use or when shipped empty, whereby the freight charges ycan be materially reduced by reason of the less space thek same occupies in its folded form. In detail the invention may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, l represents the bottom of the coop, and 2 and 3, respectively, the end and side inwardly-folding slatted walls or leaves thereof. The inner leaf of each of the hinges i, by which the end walls are secured to the bottom, rests in a depression 5, located adjacent to the edge of the said bottom, the depth of the depression being substantially equal to the thickness of the hingeleaf, whereby as the end wall 2 is closed its to improvements y in Fig. l.l V g that each wall is made up of two series ofi y innersurfa'ce folds flush with the' upper surface of the bottom-that is to say, it folds so as to rest with its entire surface on such bottom. Disposedl along the terminal edges of the side walls are inwardly-projecting blocks 6,'adapted to interlock between the adjacent ends of any two parallelV horizontal slats of which theend walls are composed, the dotted position'of the side walls in Fig. 2 showing the said blocks just before they have become intel-locked with the end walls of the coop,

Vthe 'side walls being sprung outwardly sufficiently to effect suchinterlocliing. The side walls are pivoted on top of longitudinal strips v*or stringers 7, disposed along the lateral edges ofthe bottom the said stringere being of suftif cient height to enable the said side walls to fold freely overthe end walls when the latterY have been swung to their closed position. (See Fig. Ll.) To prevent the end walls from accidentally closing after becoming interlocked with the side walls', as aforesaid, the latter have secured .thereto along' their vertical terminal slats at points adjacent tothe upper ends thereof abutting blocks S, against which the upper yends of the terminal vertical slats of the said end walls bear, as best seen It is of course to be understood slats, one running horizontally and the other at right angles thereto, as usual in coo'ps of this decription. In order to permit the side walls to close snugly over and upon the end walls when the coop is knocked down, I provide suitable recesses 9 in the slat of the end walls which lie adjacent to the hinge-line to permit the abuitingvblocks 8, carried by the side walls, to escape such Slat, for otherwise the side wall could not rest withits entire snrface against such end wall after the latter had been folded to its closed position.

The slattedcover l0, which is removable, is provided with a metallic transverselydisposed plate or strip ll, having depending arms or straps ll'V adapted to engage thev rotatable eyebolts l2 o`r other equivalent locking devices to temporarily secure such cover to the body of the coop. To effect a rigid connectionV between the lcover and walls of the coop, I provide the under sideof the outer IOO side slats of the cover with strips 13, which are of such length as to frictionally engage the inner surfaces of the side walls of the coop at points between the terminal and middle vertical slats of the latter. (See dotted position of said strips in Fig. 5.) As in most coversin this type of coop, the present oneis provided with a removable slat 14, retained in place by suitable guide-strips l5 for the removal of the fowl after such slat has been withdrawn sufficiently for the purpose. (See dotted position in Fig. 5.)

When the coop is knocked down or collapsed, the cover is placed on top of the folded leaves or Walls, the straps l1 thereof being secured to the bottom by rotatable eyebolts 16, projecting from the middle of the side edges thereof, the said eyebolts being passed through the slotted ends of the straps and then turned at an angle to the length of the slots to properly lock the cover to the coop so folded. In this Way the device can be shipped in a compact form, thus taking up a mini` mum amount of room. The cover thus se-l cured to the collapsed coop is shown indotted lines in Fig. 4.

It is apparent that minor changes can be made in the device without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is A coop having a suitable bottom, slatted end Walls or leaves having hinges one leaf of each of which is lnounted in a suitable depression in the bottom, whereby the said end walls will fold with their full surface against the bottom, suitable recesses cut in the end Walls adjacent to their hinge-lines, stringers disposed along the longitudinal edges of the bottom and raised a suitable distance above the same, side walls hinged along said stringers, blocks carried at the opposite edges of the side Walls and adapted to interlock with the slats of the end Walls, blocks secured along the inner surfaces of the side Walls against which the upper portions of the end Walls are adapted to abut, thereby preventing accidental closing of the end Walls, the abutting blocks carried by the side Walls being adapted to enter the recesses formed along the hinge-lines of the end Walls, acover havinga plate provided with depending straps or arms, means carried by the Walls of the coop for securingsaid straps when the cover is in place, fastening 'devices carried by the middle of the side edges ofthe bottom for similarly securing said straps when the coop is knocked down, and a series of strips disposed along the under surface of the cover adjacent to the edges thereof, said strips serving to frictionally engage the adjacent inner surfaces of the side walls of the coop between the terminal and middle vertical slats thereof, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM L. VALTON. Vitnesses:

EMIL STAREK, JAMES J. ODoNoHoE. 

